Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind
Kejriwal will file nomination tomorrow for the high-profile
electoral contest in this historic temple town in which the
former Delhi Chief Minister will face stiff challenge from
BJP's Prime Ministerial nominee Narendra Modi.Last month, Kejriwal had announced that he will contest
from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat after BJP's decision to field
Modi from the city, considered one of the most prestigious
constituencies in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh.45-year-old Kejriwal, who had led his fledging AAP to a
spectacular victory in the Delhi Assembly polls in December
last year, has been trying to replicate the successful Delhi
campaign model here by holding scores of road shows and corner
meetings across Varanasi.Hundreds of AAP volunteers are also visiting door-to-door
to garner support from people in this holy city where BJP has
been running an aggressive campaign to consolidate its vote
bank.In 2009 Lok Sabha election, senior BJP leader Murli
Manohar Joshi had won the seat defeating gangster-cum-
politician Mukhtar Ansari by a margin of 17,000 votes.Quami Ekta Dal's Ansari, who is known to have a strong
support base among Muslims, has decided not to contest against
Modi from the seat "to avoid division of secular votes".The four-time MLA from Mau is currently lodged in Agra
jail in BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai murder case.Congress has fielded Ajay Rai,�a Varanasi local, who is
an MLA from Pindra assembly constituency. Samajwadi Party
candidate Kailash Chaurasiya is also a sitting MLA from nearby
Mirzapur. Both Rai and Chaurasiya have already filed their
nominations.The entry of Modi and Kejriwal has escalated the
political temperature in the battle turning it into one of the
most keenly watched contests in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.Exuding confidence of pulling off a surprise, the Aam
Aadmi�Party leader says people of Varanasi will stand behind
him and defeat the BJP strongman while the saffron party feels
Modi will not face any significant fight in the constituency.The constituency has around 1.5 lakh Muslim voters and
Kejriwal has been trying hard to woo the community.An AAP leader said Kejriwal will hold a road show before
filing his nomination tomorrow.Polling in Varanasi would be held in the last phase of
Lok Sabha elections on May 12.Modi will file nomination on May 24, the last day.BSP has fielded Vijay Prakash Jaisawal while CPI(M) has
given ticket to veteran party worker Heera Lal Yadav.Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has given ticket to
Indira Tiwari.

Monday, April 21, 2014

The Oxford English Dictionary may
disappear from bookshelves as future editions may be too big
to print, its publishers fear.Only an on-line format would be practicable and
affordable as the third edition is expected to be twice the
size of the current version, according to its publishers.The publishers say the third edition of the famous
dictionary, estimated to fill 40 volumes, is running at least
20 years behind schedule, 'The Telegraph' reported.The mammoth masterpiece is facing delays because
"information overload" from the Internet is slowing compilers,
Michael Proffitt, the OED's first new chief editor for 20
years, said.Proffitt's team of 70 philologists, including
lexicographers, etymologists and pronunciation experts, has
been working on the latest version, known as OED3, for the
past 20 years.The next edition will not be completed until 2034, and
likely only to be offered in an on-line form because of its
gargantuan size, Proffitt told Country Life magazine."A lot of the first principles of the OED stand firm, but
how it manifests has to change, and how it reaches people has
to change," said Proffitt.Work on the new version, currently numbering 800,000
words, has been going on since 1994, the report said.The first edition, mooted in 1858 with completion
expected in 10 years, took 70 years.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Campaign for the second phase of
polling in Maharashtra where nearly 3.25 crore voters will be
sealing the fate of 358 candidates including stalwarts like
Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, ex-Chief Minister Ashok
Chavan and BJP leader Gopinath Munde, came to an end today.About 3,24,27,558 electorate in 19 constituencies of
western Maharashtra, Marathwada, Konkan will cast their votes
in the state on April 17.Ten constituencies of Vidarbha went to polls in the first
phase on April 10 and more than 60 per cent electorate have
cast their votes.In the second phase, there are 358 candidates in fray,
including 24 women and 201 independents.The voters in the second phase include 1,69,54,391 men
and 1,53,77,605 women. There are 306 voters in the others
category and 95,256 in the service category.The constituencies which will go to polls are - Hingoli,
Nanded, Beed, Parbhani, Osmanabad and Latur in Marathwada,
Pune, Baramati, Shirur, Maval, Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Satara,
Kolhapur, Hathkanangale in Western Maharashtra, Shirdi,
Ahmednagar in North Maharashtra and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg in
Konkan.The generation next of Maharashtra politics - Supriya
Sule (Baramati) and Nilesh Rane (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg) - are
seeking a second term.Indian Youth Congress chief Rajiv Satav, who is currently
a legislator, is seeking to enter Lok Sabha from Hingoli.Vishwajit Kadam, who is the state Youth Congress chief
and son of Congress veteran Patangrao Kadam, is also making
foray from Pune.Beed constituency has maximum 39 candidates, while
Baramati has the lowest nine.The largest constituency electorate wise is Maval with
19,46,127 voters. The smallest constituency electorate wise is
Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg (13,63,957).

Loudspeakers fell silent this evening
with campaigning coming to an end for the second phase voting
to seven Lok Sabha seats in Bihar on April 17.
Tight security arrangements have been put in place as
many of the constituencies fall in Maoist-hit areas.
Voting in Patna and nearby districts would decide the
fate of 117 candidates, including actor-politician Shatrughan
Sinha, former Home Secretary R K Singh, Lalu Prasad's eldest
daughter Misa Bharti and her two uncles Ramkripal Yadav and
Ranjan Yadav.A total of 11,85,07,86 electors would exercise their
franchise in 11,846 polling stations in Patna Sahib, Nalanda,
Patliputra, Jehanabad, Munger, Ara and Buxar Parliamentary
Constituencies.
Keeping up the BJP momentum, its Prime Ministerial
candidate Narendra Modi addressed rallies at Jehanabad, Ara
and Bikram in Patliputra seats on April 10.
BJP veteran L K Advani made his maidan poll campaign in
Bihar by addressing rallies at Banka and Katihar on April 14.
Cinestar Shatrughan Sinha, seeking re-election from Patna
Sahib on BJP ticket, mainly campaigned for himself conducting
a large number of rallies and road shows.His Congress rival and Bhojpuri actor Kunal Singh worked
hard to give him a challenge on the seat in the state capital.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad, Ramvilas Paswan
and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi criss
crossed constituencies to garner support for their parties.
Chief Secretary A K Sinha told reporters that a total of
42,600 security personnel would be deployed for smooth conduct
of the polls.As in the first phase of polls in six seats in naxal-hit
areas on April 10, two helicopters would be in service in the
second phase of voting also.
Accompanied by Director General of Police Abhyanand,
Sinha said 152 companies of central forces and 74 Bihar
Military police would be on duty on April 17 polling.
As per Election Commission decision, voting in seven
Maoist-hit Assembly constituencies would end at 4 pm while in
the rest it would be conducted till 6 pm.
The seven Assembly constituencies that would witness
curtailed voting time are in naxal-affected Munger,
Lakhisarai, Jehanabad and in rural Patna comprising areas in
Patliputra Parliamentary constituency.

Aam Aadmi Party nominee from Amethi
Kumar Vishwas today declared his assets about Rs four crore in
an affidavit filed along with his nomination papers for the
Lok Sabha polls.Kumar has declared assets including that of his wife Manju
Sharma. As per the affidavit, while gross total value of
Kumar's movable assets is more than Rs 1.28 crore, that of his
wife is more than Rs 56 lakh.The current market value of his immovable properties,
including two residential flats in Rishikesh and Vasundhara in
Ghaziabad is around Rs 1.29 crore, while that of his wife is
Rs 65.07 lakh, which includes agricultural land.The 44-year-old poet-turned-politician has mentioned
lecturer as his occupation.He has liabilities of Rs 6.73 lakh against him.The PhD scholar has declared cash in hand of Rs 1.75 lakh.
His wife Manju Sharma has Rs 1.1 lakh cash in hand. He holds
four bank accounts and a Fixed deposit of Rs 2 lakh.Kumar is in the fray along with BJP's Smriti Irani and
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi from Amethi constituency
which goes to poll on May 7.

Taunting Rahul Gandhi, Narendra Modi today compared him with a child,
saying 'toffee' has caught the Congress vice president's fancy
after he repeatedly spoke about 'balloon'."Such an important election about the country's future,
but for ten days, a word that gripped him (Rahul) was
'balloon'. For ten days he kept repeating it. However,
children don't stick to a toy for too long and now he has
caught the word 'toffee'," Modi said campaigning in Jharkhand
in a clear dig at Rahul who yesterday dubbed the Gujarat model
of development as a "toffee model"."His childishness has not yet gone. First he used to
talk about balloons and now he is talking about toffees�
Gujarat has got 300 trophies and not toffees."Now you tell me what to do. I am not of an age where
I can play with balloons," Modi said.Modi's jibe came a day after Rahul dubbed the BJP Prime
Ministerial candidate's repeated reference to the Gujarat
model of development as a "toffee model", alleging that land
was given to few industrialists at throwaway prices.Rahul had earlier come under Modi's firing line for
stating the BJP's balloon will burst with the Lok Sabha
results going against it.Targeting Sonia Gandhi, Modi said, "Mother and son
(Rahul) have ruined the country and the Prime Minister has to
bear the brunt". Modi said he considered serious issues would be
discussed in the election which BJP leaders including L K
Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Yashwant Sinha, Arun Jaitley and Murli
Manohar Joshi were doing. "But on the other side, there is a
player whose mind doesn't move away from childishness.He said it was for the people to decide whether or not
they wanted those who played with balloons and craved toffees.

Samajwadi Party leader Azam
Khan has been booked yet again for allegedly making
provocative speech at an election rally, the sixth case to be
registered against the UP minister after the Election
Commission cracked the whip on him.The latest FIR was registered against Khan on April 13
night at Afzalgarh police station in Bijnore, official sources
said today.While two FIRs have been lodged against Azam in Bijnore,
one FIR each has been lodged in Ghaziabad, Rampur, Sambhal and
Shamli districts for allegedly making inflammatory speeches
and violating the mode code of conduct.On April 11, the EC had banned Khan from campaigning in
Uttar Pradesh and asked authorities to initiate criminal
proceedings against him.The EC had been critical of the role of Samajwadi Party's
government in the state for "soft-pedalling" on registration
of FIRs against Khan and not dealing with the sensitive issue
with alacrity.Khan had addressed an election rally at Afzalgarh in
support of Moradabad's SP candidate, ST Hasan on April 10 in
which he had allegedly tried to flare up communal feelings by
speaking on the Gujarat and Muzaffarnagar riots in detail.Another FIR was lodged against Khan in Bijnore on April
11 for allegedly making provocative remarks at an election
rally in Nehtaur on the same day. He has been accused for
flaring up communal feeling and trying to divide people on
religious lines.Earlier, an FIR was lodged against Khan in Sambhal on
April 12 on charges of inciting communal passions during his
election meeting on April 9 where Khan had exhorted the
electorate to take revenge from the rioters of Muzaffarnagar
by pressing the (EVM) button in the Lok Sabha polls.On April 12, Khan was booked in Masuri police station of
Ghaziabad for his controversial remarks on Kargil war on
April7.
The SP leader, during his party rally in
Muslim-dominated area Masuri area, said. "Kargil ki pahadiyo
ko fateh karne wala koi Hindu nahi tha, balki Kargil ki
pahadiyo ko nara-e- takbeer Allah-Hu-Akbar kehkar fathe
karnewale Musalman fauji the" (peaks of Kargil were not
conquered by Hindus, but by Muslims).Another FIR was registered against Azam in Shamli
district on April 12.In his home district Ramppur too, an FIR was
registered against Khan for his speech at Kila Rampur made on
April 10 in which he purportedly reiterated his controversial
Kargil remarks and also targeted BJP leader Amit Shah terming
him "fascist and insaniyat ka qaatil".In these FIRs charges against Khan included Sections 153A
(Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of
religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc),
153B( imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-
integration) and 505 (Statements creating or promoting
enmity, hatred or illwill between classes) of IPC besides
Section 125 Representation of the People Act, 1951).

Charges against five accused
in connection with murder of two youths during Muzaffarnagar
riots were today framed in a local court here.Additional District Sessions Judge Jitender Kumar framed
charges against five accused Mujassim, Mujammil, Nadeen,
Jahangir and Furkan -- under various sections of IPC in
connection with the murder of two youths -- Sachin and Gaurav
in Kawal village on August 27 last.All accused were produced in the Court from jail today.Special Investigation Team had filed charge sheet on
November 27 last against the all five accused.Two motorbikes had collided, after which a man named
Shahnawaz was allegedly stabbed to death by Gaurav and his
friend Sachin. On hearing his cries, locals had rushed to the
spot and beaten the duo to death.Cross cases were registered in this regard. SIT had filed
the case of Gaurav and Sachin's killing in court, while a
cross case of Shanawaz's murder is under investigation.Tension had prevailed in Kawal village after the incident,
making it the epicentre of the riots in Muzaffarnagar and
adjoining areas that claimed over 60 lives and left thousands
homeless.

Monday, April 14, 2014

As the campaign for second phase of
polling in Maharashtra draws to a close tomorrow, in which
nearly 3.25 crore voters are expected to decide the fate of
358 candidates, leaders are working feverishly to canvass and
take out rallies to ensure maximum support for their parties.Several political bigwigs, including Union Home Minister
Sushilkumar Shinde, former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and
senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde are in the fray in the second
phase of polling.Total number of 3,24,27,558 electors in 19 constituencies
in western Maharashtra, Marathwada and Konkan will exercise
their franchise during the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in
Maharashtra on April 17.The voters include 1,69,54,391 men and 1,53,77,605 women.
There are 306 voters in the others category and 95,256 in the
service category.Ten constituencies of Vidarbha have already voted in the
first phase on April 10 and more than 60 per cent electorate
have cast their votes.In the second phase, there are 358 candidates in fray,
including 24 women and 201 independents.The constituencies that would go to polls are - Hingoli,
Nanded, Beed, Parbhani, Osmanabad and Latur in Marathwada,
Pune, Baramati, Shirur, Maval, Solapur, Madha, Sangli, Satara,
Kolhapur, Hathkanangale in Western Maharashtra, Shirdi,
Ahmednagar in North Maharashtra and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg in
Konkan.The generation next of Maharashtra politics - Supriya
Sule (Baramati) and Nilesh Rane (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg) - are
seeking a second term.Indian Youth Congress chief Rajiv Satav, who is
currently a legislator, is making a debut in electoral
politics from Hingoli.Vishwajit Kadam, who is the state Youth Congress chief
and son of Congress veteran Patangrao Kadam, is also making
his debut from Pune.There are 11 constituencies with more than 16 candidates,
while at one seat there are more than 32 candidates. Beed
constituency has maximum 39 candidates, while Baramati has the
lowest nine.The largest constituency electorate wise is Maval with
19,46,127 voters while the smallest is Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg
with 13,63,957 electors.

Campaign will come to an end tomorrow
in 20 Lok Sabha seats that will go to polls in Rajasthan on
April 17.
The state will have a two-phase polling, with five
remaining seats going to polls in the second phase on April
24.
Chief Election Officer Ashok Jain today said that public
meetings, rallies, processions or campaigning through
electronic media and SMSes will be restricted after 6 PM
tomorrow.
Candidates can, however, do door to door canvassing, he
said.
239 candidates, including BJP rebels Jaswant Singh and
Subhash Maharia, are in the fray in the 20 seats that go to
polls on April 17.
Of the 17 women contestants figuring in the first phase,
Congress accounts for six, including three sitting MPs, and
BJP one.
About 4.26 crore voters, including 2.01 crore women are
eligible to exercise their franchise at 47,948 polling booths
in the state in both the phases.

Several flights to Dubai would be
affected for 80 days from May one due to closure of two
runways there for upgrade, with Jet Airways and Air India
Express announcing shifting of most of their flights to
neighbouring Sharjah and revising timings for some operations.
Indigo and Dubai-based Emirates also said they would slash
some of their flights between India and the UAE city.
"With partial runway closure at Dubai airport from May one
to July 20, flights between Dubai and Amritsar, Lucknow,
Trichy, Jaipur and Pune will operate to and from Sharjah," Air
India Express said today.
Similarly, Jet Airways would operate some flights with a
revised timing during this period to and from Sharjah. It
assured its passengers that there would be no cancellation of
any of its listed flights, a Jet spokesperson said.
Some of Jet's flights to and from Mangalore, Mumbai and
Delhi would operate to Sharjah, though the private carrier
would fly to Dubai from Mumbai (9W 538) on Sundays.
Both Jet and Air India Express have advised customers to
check their websites for detailed flight timings.
A report in a Dubai daily said eight airlines, including
Jet Airways have applied for slots at Al Maktoum International
- Dubai's second airport - during the runway closure.
IndiGo would also curtail some of its flights from Delhi
and Mumbai to Dubai temporarily, while Dubai-based Emirates
Airline would also temporarily reduce flights to Delhi and
Bangalore.
An IndiGo spokesperson said the airline would operate 37
weekly flights from six Indian cities to Dubai International
airport from 56 weekly flights at present.
In a statement, Dubai Airports said all systems would
undergo a comprehensive runway upgrade during the period.
The work would last 80 days during which the runways
would be closed alternatively � the southern runway from May
one to May 31 and the northern runway from May 31 to July 20.
The number of flights at Dubai International is likely to be
reduced by 26 per cent during the repair.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today
demanded Election Commission's "immediate intervention" to
ensure free and fair elections after two of its candidates
were attacked in two seperate incidents in Jharkhand and
Bihar.A statement released by the party said AAP candidate from
Nalanda parliamentary constituency in Bihar, Pranav Prakash
was allegedly attacked and brutally beaten up on Sunday night."He was in Udarfu village under Bind police station,
(Asthava vidhan sabha) of Nalanda district. A group of 20-30
goons, armed with rods, pistols and other weapons, attacked
the car in which he was travelling, broke the windows of his
car, dragged him into a ditch and brutally beat him, till he
fell unconscious", the statement said."It is shocking and highly regrettable that when the EC
officials/observers in Nalanda district were contacted, they
refused to come and informed the AAP volunteers that they
would meet them in the morning," it said.In the second incident, the AAP candidate from Khunti
parliamentary constituency of Jharkhand and well-known adivasi
activist Dayamani Barla and her campaign team are being
regularly threatened, the party alleged."On April 7, the vehicle carrying the AAP supporters
towards Arki block was stopped at Birbanki by some armed
militants at 3 PM. They took away the car keys and mobile
phones of all members, who however, managed to escape on foot
at 7 PM and walked through the jungle all night to reach
Khunti back only the next morning."The next incident took place on April 9, when some AAP
supporters were stopped at Bikwadag in Karra block by six
armed men. One of them said that he was the zonal commander of
extremist outfit People�s Liberation Front of India (PLFI),
which will not allow any campaigning for the AAP, and anybody
doing so would be killed," the statement added.AAP alleged that PLFI has made it clear that it will only
allow the campaign of Jharkhand Party's candidate Anosh Ekka."These incidents show that vested interests are trying to
discourage the presence of AAP in the electoral arena and
it is for the EC to ensure that candidates are allowed to
campaign without any fear and people are allowed to
participate in the democratic process without any undue
influence," the statement added

PM candidate, a fictional idea: Mamata
Trashing pre-poll surveys putting
Narendra Modi ahead in the prime ministerial race, Trinamool
Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today said the idea of a PM
candidate is "fictional" as it is not backed by Constitution."The 'PM candidate' is a fictional idea. There is no
such thing in the Constitution," she said, adding that in a
parliamentary democracy, the people elect MPs who then select
the PM.In an exclusive interview to PTI, the West Bengal Chief
Minister said, "Let them get a majority first. To those who
are saying Namo, Namo, we are saying No-No, No-No," she
said, targeting Modi who last Friday went hammer and tongs
against Banerjee in an election rally near Siliguri.She expressed confidence that a federal front will form
the next government because "people of India are 'bahut'
(very) wise."The federal front, she said, comprises political parties
which are keen to fight corruption, dynasty rule and
communalism, which both Congress and BJP have failed to do."Congress has lost all credibility, accountability and
morality to rule. We cannot do away with a corrupt government
and bring a party whose face symbolises communal rioting," she
said."On the counting day, you will see even if you add up the
Congress and BJP seats, it will be below 273. This is the
political reality," Banerjee said.Alleging that Congress and BJP have "formed a syndicate
to sell India", she said, "Congress is anti-people. They are
increasing the prices of essential commodities � from fuel to
fertilisers."Banerjee, who had earlier said BJP is not the alternative
to Congress and Congress is not the alternative to BJP, now
said "BJP and Congress are the same".Hitting out at Narendra Modi without naming him,
Banerjee said, "The BJP has a person with blood of innocents
killed in riots on his hands hoping to be the PM".Asked if TMC will support a BJP-led government minus
Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister, Banerjee said, "There are
too many ifs and buts in your question. Politics is not about
ifs and buts. I have told you I am hopeful about the Federal
Front."

Friday, April 11, 2014

Cracking the whip on Narendra
Modi's close aide Amit Shah and SP leader Azam Khan, the
Election Commission today banned them from holding public
meetings, processions or roadshows in Uttar Pradesh and asked
authorities to initiate criminal proceedings against them.
The EC also directed the Chief Secretary to ensure that no
act of commission or omission is resorted to by BJP leader
Amit Shah and UP Minister Azam Khan that can affect public
tranquility and law and order.
The EC was also critical of the role of Samajwadi Party's
government in the state for "soft-pedalling" on registration
of FIRs against Khan and not dealing with the sensitive issue
with alacrity.
The tough stand was taken by the EC at a top-level meeting
of Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath and Election
Commissioners H S Brahma and S N A Zaidi where the poll body
exercised its constitutional powers to prevent the two leaders
from further vitiating the poll atmosphere.
"The Commission hereby directs under Article 324 of the
Constitution of India and all other powers enabling in this
behalf, that necessary FIRs should be immediately filed and
criminal proceedings initiated against the above mentioned two
leaders, wherever the same have not been instituted so far,"
the order said.
It also said, "No permission should be granted for holding
public meetings, public processions, public rallies, road
shows, etc., by the district administration authorities, where
the above two leaders are expected or likely to participate."
The EC also directed the Chief Secretary to ensure
compliance of its orders by 5 PM of April 12.
The poll body directed the authorities to take all
preventive measures against Shah and Khan under the relevant
provisions of CrPC to ensure that no act of commission or
omission is resorted to by them which has the effect of
prejudicially affecting public tranquility and law and order.

Under attack over the media
blitz, Narendra Modi has said he is ready to face any probe by
any government agency into Congress allegations that a
whopping Rs 10,000 crore was being spent on poll publicity and
offered to write to the Election Commission himself in this
regard.He said the UPA government has 30-40 days still left and
it should use "all the force" to conduct the probe and
complete it at the earliest.The Gujarat Chief Minister rubbished Rahul Gandhi's
charges that he had given farmers' land to industrial houses
at throwaway prices and responded to his 'balloon' jibe by
asserting that people of the state would not have elected him
again and again if his contention about development was a lie.In an interview to Rajat Sharma for 'Aap Ki Adalat'
programme on India TV, the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate
was asked about allegations by Congress leaders, particularly
Anand Sharma, that he had spent a whopping Rs 10,000 crore on
publicity during the ongoing elections, out of which 90 per
cent was black money."Rs 10,000 crore is a big amount. The government has
still 30-40 days left. They should use all their force and
order a probe by any agency. They should check whose money is
this. From where did it come and where it was spent," Modi
replied, adding he would be happy when the truth is presented
before the nation.Modi said if there is any basis for the allegations,
Sharma should write to the Election Commission so that the
poll body also conducts a probe to ascertain how much BJP
spend on publicity and how much of it was black money."If there is a hurdle of election Model Code of Conduct
in ordering a probe by the government, I will myself write to
the Election Commission saying that I will have no objection
if the government wants to conduct a probe into the matter,"
he said.On Rahul Gandhi's allegations that he had given farmers'
land to big industrial houses at throwaway prices, Modi said
it was a "lie" and motivated by political considerations.He referred to Tata's Nano project and said not even an
inch of land was given for free.

The fourth phase of Lok Sabha
elections will take place tomorrow covering seven
constituencies in four states where over half-a-crore voters
will decide the fate of 74 candidates.While the first phase of the nine phased electoral battle
took place on April 7, the polling for the third phase
concluded yesterday evening with an impressive voter turnout.The states which will be covered in tomorrow's phase are
Goa, Assam, Tripura and Sikkim.Goa, with two seats, will witness a single phased poll
tomorrow where 19 candidates are in fray for the North and
South Goa constituencies, including those of Congress, BJP,
CPI and other regional parties and independents.Prominent candidates from North Goa include Ravi Naik
(Cong), BJP's sitting MP Shripad Naik and AAP's Dattaram
Desai. From the South Goa seat, Congress' Aleixo Reginaldo
Lourenco, BJP's Narendra Sawaikar and AAP's Swati Kerkar are
among the prominent contenders.South Goa's sitting MP Francisco Sardinha (Cong) has not
been given a ticket this time.In Goa, after every one male voter, two women voters
would be allowed to exercise their franchisee.This has been done for the first time keeping in mind
that the females need to come out in large number to increase
the voting percentage in the state.Tripura also goes to poll tomorrow to elect its second
representative to the Lok Sabha from the Tripura East (ST)
constituency.A multi-cornered contest will take place in the
constituency among the CPI(M), Congress, Trinamool Congress
and BJP.There are 12 candidates in the fray including CPI(M)'s
Jitendra Chowdhury, who is the state industries minister,
Congress' Sachitra Debbarma, a prominent educationist, BJP's
Parkshit Debbarma, an ex-armyman, and Trinamool Congress
leader Bhriguram Reang.

Decriminalisation of gay sex by
repealing section 377 of IPC, bringing more women officers in
police force and "zero tolerance" towards crimes against women
are some of the promises made by Aam Aadmi Party which today
unveiled its Mumbai-centric "sankalp patra"."Mumbai is special(in itself),"activist-turned-politician
and AAP's candidate from Mumbai North East seat Medha Patkar
said.The "sankalp patra" was released at a press conference
in presence of the AAP candidates who are contesting from all
six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai.Laying emphasis on eradication of corruption, the
Arvind Kejriwal-led party, which is contesting all 48 seats in
Maharashtra, also promised repealing of section 377 of IPC if
voted to power."What we are doing in bedroom that should not be the
concern of government," said AAP leader Mayank Gandhi who is
contesting from Mumbai North West constituency on the party
ticket.The AAP manifesto also promised "enacting and
implementing the Jan Lokpal Bill in Maharashtra and
implementation of all recommendations made by the Justice
Verma Committee".The committee was formed after the 2012
gangrape-cum-murder of a paramedic student in Delhi.Other points mentioned in the manifesto include:
introduction of more women officers at all levels in police
force; ensuring collaboration in citizens to form
neighbourhood watch groups so as to facilitate effective
policing, and zero tolerance to violence against women.

Although hailed as a historic
electoral reform, the None of The Above (NOTA) option did not
find many takers during the general elections in the national
capital today.As Delhi witnessed a tripartite electoral battle between
BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party, there were many voters who
seemed disenchanted with the candidates but still chose not to
tap the newly included NOTA button considering it as a
"wastage of vote".On being asked about its relevance, a female voter in
Laxmi Nagar said, "We could have stayed back at home instead
of coming here to vote. I am not standing in this queue to go
and press the NOTA button. It is useless."Rishi, a 24-year-old first time voter lacked the vigour
of a quintissential first timer and said, "I am disappointed
with the political system of our country. I am not even
excited to cast my first ever Lok Sabha vote."I know I will be wasting my vote, but NOTA is weighing
over my mind as I enter the polling station because I don't
think NOTA would make a difference," he said before casting
his vote at Kutcha Natwa in Chandni Chowk constituency.The Supreme Court in its direction on September 27 last
providedNOTA option on the Electronic Voting Machine and
ballot papers so that the electors who do not want to vote for
any of the candidates can exercise this option in secrecy.The apex court's judgement was first implemented after
the option was made available in the Assembly polls in five
states last year, including Delhi.While the general trend in Chandni Chowk and East Delhi
constituency outrightly dubbed the new option as "wastage of
voting power" and termed it "stupid", NOTA found a handful
takers in South Delhi and New Delhi constituencies."I don't want NOTA because when I came to the polling
station I know which party to vote for. If you have a choice
then why waste the vote," said Shiv Sahay Gupta, 59, who voted
in South Delhi constituency."I got to know about the NOTA option from various
campaigns and also through newspapers. But I didn't exercise
it beceause I believe using that option is like boycotting the
elections," said Sunanada, a Delhi University student.

A fresh underwater acoustic signal
possibly from the crashed Malaysian jet was today detected,
fuelling hopes of an early breakthrough in the arduous hunt
for the plane as searchers zeroed in on a smaller area in the
Indian Ocean.On the 33rd day of the search for the Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH370 - that vanished mysteriously on March 8 with 239
people on board - an Australian naval aircraft picked up an
underwater signal in the same area where searchers in ships
previously detected sounds consistent with a plane's black
box.While conducting an acoustic search this afternoon, an
RAAF AP-3C Orion aircraft detected a possible signal in the
vicinity of the Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield, said
Angus Houston, head of the Perth-based Joint Agency
Coordination Centre (JACC) which is leading the search."The acoustic data will require further analysis
overnight but shows potential of being from a man-made
source," Houston said.Finding the black box is crucial to know why the Beijing-
bound Boeing 777-200 with 239 people, including five Indians,
veered off from its route after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.The batteries of the black box flight recorders have
a life of about 30 days, meaning they either might have been
or are on the verge of being drained out.Stored in a plane's tail, they are designed to begin
sending off distinct, high-pitched pings or signals as soon as
they come in contact with water.The Ocean Shield, bearing a special US Navy "towed pinger
locator", had picked up two fresh signals on Tuesday that
matched a pair of signals detected over the weekend consistent
with a plane's black box.Today, Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)
narrowed down drastically the search area to about 57,923 sq
km from yesterday's 75,000 sq km, the smallest yet in the
month-long hunt. The centre of the search area lies
approximately 2,280 km north west of Perth.Up to 10 military aircraft, four civil aircraft and 13
ships were assist in today's search for the plane that
authorities believe crashed in the Indian Ocean.The three vessels - the Ocean Shield to the north, and
the British HMS Echo and Chinese Haixun 01 to the south --
were focussing underwater.

Odisha recorded 50 per cent polling till 4:00 pm and there was
brisk voting in Jharkhand, Bihar and Andaman and Nicobar
Islands in the third phase of polling for 21 Lok Sabha seats
and 70 assembly constituencies in Odisha in eastern India.Andamans recorded the region's highest turnout of 55 per
cent, Jharkhand 50 per cent and Bihar 46.89 per cent.Polling was preceded by violence in Bihar with two
CRPF personnel killed and seven injured in a landmine blast
triggered by Maoists near Sawa Lakh Baba Mandir at the
entrance of Bhimbandh jungle in Jamui parliamentary
constituency in Munger district at 5:30 AM, Deputy
Superintendent of Police, Khargpur, Ranjan Kumar, told PTI.The CRPF personnel killed in the blast were identified
as head constable Ravindra Rai and constable Sone Gora, Kumar
said.In Gaya, the police seized and defused six can bombs
weighing 30 kg each from Banke Bazar area under Imamganj
assembly segment, which is part of Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat,
Gaya senior superintendent of police Nishant Tiwari said.In Jharkhand, Maoists exploded a series of landmines in
the forests of Latehar district and exchanged gunfire with
security personnel before polling began in the Chatra Lok
Sabha seat but there was no casualty, Latehar Superintendent
of Police Michael S Raj told PTI.In Odisha, suspected Maoists pulled out polling personnel
from a vehicle in Mathili area in Malkangiri and burnt four
EVMs meant for four booths late last night, Malkangiri
Superintendent of Police Akhileswar Singh said.

Rahul Gandhi today accused
BJP of copying Congress' election manifesto and asked the
opposition party to elaborate on its promises to curb
corruption."Congress started work on poll manifesto six months back
and we went to poor, farmers and labourers before drafting our
manifesto to know about their problems and issues and
incorporated their suggestions in the manifesto, but what BJP
did is they removed Congress symbol and pasted their symbol on
our manifesto," Gandhi said."We want to associate people but BJP wants to run
government of big businessmen. This is the difference between
Congress and BJP," he said, addressing a public meeting here."Congress wants to give the nation right of health. Our
(former) government in Rajasthan took this initiative and now
we want to introduce at the national level if our government
is formed. We have also made promises with regard to old age
pension, right to roof, among other," he said.Gandhi said that BJP has made promises for such works
which have already been started by Congress government."They talk about one rank one pension in defence forces
but Congress has already done it. Congress has started work on
an industrial corridor and BJP says that its government if
formed would start work for that," he said.Gandhi said that BJP in its manifesto mentioned that it
would take step against corruption, but what step will be
taken is not cleared."They talk about corruption, but when their leader goes
to Karnataka, he sits with the most corrupt chief minister who
has been to jail on corruption charges. He can not see mining
mafia in Chhattisgarh, can not see corruption in Madhya
Pradesh," Gandhi said, targeting Narendra Modi.He alleged that the UPA government introduced Lokpal
bill, but BJP opposed it."UPA government empowered people with Right to
Information which brought out corruption before people from
the power chambers of chief minister or bureaucrats," Gandhi
said, addressing the meeting in support of the party candidate
from Jhunjhunu Rajbala Ola.Senior party leader Kumari Selja, PCC President Sachin
Pilot, former PCC chief Chandrabhan, former Rajasthan
ministers Virendra Beniwal and Brijendra Ola were present in
the meeting.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram
Naik today asked BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra
Modi to clarify why he filed a "false" affidavit vis-a-vis
declaration about his marital status.Modi had kept the column blank during Gujarat Assembly
election, while in his affidavit filed before the Election
Commission for the Lok Sabha polls yesterday, he revealed his
wife's name as Jashodaben, Naik said in statement issued here."Modi has to clarify as to why he filed a false
affidavit in the last Assembly election by not disclosing the
name of his wife, and further, as to how and why he is not
aware of the other relevant financial details of his wife,"
Naik has said.Claiming that he has verified the form filled by Modi,
Naik said the BJP leader has mentioned "Mahiti Nathi"
(information not known) in front of the columns pertaining to
PAN card, financial year for which the last income tax return
has been filed and total income shown in the income tax
returns.Naik said the concerned Returning Officer was
duty-bound to direct the candidate to give the details which
he has said "not known", failing which nomination papers
should be rejected.In an affidavit submitted along with his nomination
papers filed yesterday for Vadodara Lok Sabha seat, the
63-year-old Gujarat Chief Minister stated that he is married.So far, Modi used to leave the column of spouse which
is to be filled in an affidavit as blank. He had kept the
column blank in 2012 Assembly elections as well.